Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

Pres. Obama sticks his nose into Catholic education in IRELAND

Posted on 17 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Another example of what this man wants: total isolation of any religious values in the private sphere alone. Pres. Obama is working either to intimidate or legislate or even TAX religious freedom out of the public square.

From the Scottish Catholic Observer!

US president undermines Catholic schools after Vatican Prefect praised them
The US President has made an alarming call for an end to Catholic education in Northern Ireland in spite of the fact that Archbishop Gerhard Müller told Scots that Catholic education was ‘a critical component of the Church.’

President Barack Obama (above), repeated the oft disproved claim that Catholic education increases division in front of an audience of 2000 young people, including many Catholics, at Belfast’s Waterfront hall when he arrived in the country this morning.

“If towns remain divided—if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can’t see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden—that too encourages division and discourages cooperation,” the US president said. [And this is his business… how? Trick question. It isn’t. It is part of an agenda he has for the public square in the USA. He is trying to destroy conservative institutions.]

The US politician made the unfounded claim despite a top Vatican official spelling out the undeniable good done by Catholic education in a speech in Glasgow on Saturday and in his homily at Mass on Friday.

Archbishop Gerhard Müller , prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, told an audience in Scotland that Catholic education provided a rare place where ‘intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment would come together’ while giving the presitigous Cardinal Winning Lecture on Saturday to officially launch the St Andrews Foundation for Catholic teacher education at Glasgow University. [Did Müller manage to give his talk without a teleprompter?] During Mass at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow, on Friday night he said that ‘the Catholic school is vitally important … a critical component of the Church,’ adding that Catholic education provides young people with a wonderful opportunity to ‘grow up with Jesus.’

Mr Obama is in Northern Ireland to take part in the two day G8 Summit at the Lough Erne resort in Enneskillen.

Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a foreign visit to a Islamic nation where he told people on his arrival that they shouldn’t have madrasas. Can you?

Did he when visiting, say, Israel, say “You Jews shouldn’t have synagogue schools and you Muslims shouldn’t have mosque schools.” I can’t remember. Did he?

Posted in Dogs and Fleas, Liberals, Our Catholic Identity, Pò sì jiù, Religious Liberty, The future and our choices, What are they REALLY saying? | Tagged Archbp. Müller, Catholic education, HHS mandate, N. Ireland, Pres. Obama, religious freedom, secularism
64 Comments

QUAERITUR: Wouldn’t audible prayers in the Extraordinary Form be better?

Posted on 16 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I was born during Vatican II and until recently, had no exposure whatsoever to Mass in the Extraordinary Form. At the invitation of a friend, I have been visiting a local parish that offers the EF and I am baffled by the fact that many (if not most) of the priest’s prayers are inaudible to the congregation. Why is this? Wouldn’t saying or chanting the prayers aloud make it much easier for the congregation to follow the liturgy and comprehend the glorious mystery and majesty of what is being said and celebrated in the liturgy? Please enlighten me.

Comprehend the mystery? Really? We can have a glimpse, an encounter with mystery, which may wind up being both frightening and alluring. Comprehend?

It seems to me that for decades, our liturgical worship has been turned into a didactic moment, or a self-enclosed group grope, or a period of distraction or entertainment. All manner of noise and explanations and singing every word and constant amplified chatter from the sanctuary (if there is a sanctuary) has conditioned people to think that they have to see and hear everything and be doing something all the time. Our sense of “active participation” has been twisted.

Here are a few quick reasons – few and quick because Father’s tired – to get you started in your own thinking about the great advantages of having some of the priest’s prayers inaudible.

Firstly, however, remember that some of the priest’s prayers in the post-Conciliar, Novus Ordo are silent.

That said, very often during Mass Father is not talking to you! The prayers are addressed to God.

Moreover, the denial of certain senses is helpful in establishing an environment and moment in which you can encounter mystery. Mass cannot, must not, be easy. You have to strive even in the gaps of your perceptions for what is really going on. In the Eastern Rites this is accomplished by denial of the view of a great deal of what is going on. There is a screen with doors, which at a certain point are closed, thus shutting of your view of things in a more complete way. You can hear everything, but not see. What’s more, in the early Church in Rome, curtains were hung about the altar to obscure the view.

Denial of the senses is important. Constant noise won’t let you do that.

In addition, the silent prayers aid…well… silence. We need silence in our rites. Silence itself can be difficult for many people today. To that I say “good”! Mass should not be easy. After all we are trying to join the earthly and the heavenly, the mortal and the eternal, the human and the divine. How is that easy? No. We should avoid the trap of trying to dumb our rites down.

Finally, it is part of our tradition to pray in this manner. This is how Catholics do things. Celebration of Mass did not begin in 1970, after all.

So, at the end of a long day, those are a few quick reasons for why in the Extraordinary Form many of the priest’s prayers are not audible to you. They are, however, audible to God and the Holy Angels.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged Extraordinary Form, silent Canon
64 Comments

WDTPRS 11th Ordinary Sunday: God begins and completes the meritorious things we do

Posted on 16 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This week’s Collect is effectively the same as one in the ancient Gelasian Sacramentary and the prayer in the 1962 Missale Romanum used during the week after Trinity Sunday.

Deus, in te sperantium fortitudo, invocantibus nostris adesto propitius, et, quia sine te nihil potest mortalis infirmitas, gratiae tuae praesta semper auxilium, ut, in exsequendis mandatis tuis, et voluntate tibi et actione placeamus.

Because of the word pairings fortitudo and infirmitas, voluntas and actio, a possible source for this Collect could be the anti-Pelagian writings of St Augustine of Hippo (d 430).

In classical Latin fortitudo rarely means just physical strength. Instead, it is “firmness, manliness shown in enduring or undertaking hardship; fortitude, resolution, bravery, courage, intrepidity”. In the Latin Vulgate of the Old Testment the Lord is often described as “my strength… fortitudo mea”. Latin and Greek Old Testament versions translate Hebrew maw’oz and ‘oz which indicate a place or means of safety, a refuge or stronghold. You probably know the great “battle hymn” of the 16th Protestant revolt in Germany, “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott … A Mighty Fortress is our God”, the translation of a psalm by Martin Luther (d 1546). Since ancient times the battle of orthodox Catholicism with various heresies and schismatic movements has involved the use of hymns and songs. They help people learn and remember things. St Augustine of Hippo (d 430) composed a song with sound theological points to combat the Donatists who had set up their schismatic altars against those of Catholics. This is true in more modern times as well. If the Lutherans had “A Mighty Fortress is our God” we Catholics had “Grosser Gott, Wir Loben Dich … Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” composed in 1774 as a paraphrase of the Te Deum going back to the late 4th or early 5th century, perhaps having a connection to St Ambrose (d 397).

Auxilium is “help, aid, assistance, support, succor”. The obsolete ICEL versions constantly had us asking for some “help” from God (who is, after all, really nice). In those now outdated prayers “help” was nearly always inadequate because the concept of “grace” was obliterated along with the word “grace” itself. Voluntas is mainly “will, freewill, wish, choice, desire, inclination”. This is the power of our free will which together with our intellect distinguishes us from brute beasts. It can also be more simply an “intention” or something we interiorly “will”.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:

O God, strength of those hoping in You, graciously be present to us as we are invoking You, and, because without You mortal weakness can do nothing, grant always the help of Your grace, so that, in the performance of Your commands, we may please You both in will and in action.

OBSOLETE ICEL (1973):

Almighty God, our hope and our strength, without you we falter. Help us to follow Christ and to live according to your will.

That was a good example of why we needed a new translation.

CURRENT ICEL (2011):

O God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands we may please you by our resolve and our deeds.

In the fall of our First Parents, we were wounded and weakened in our intellect and will. It is hard for us to reason to what is good and true. After we figure them out with our reason or we learn about them from authority, because of our passions and appetites it can be hard for us to will to choose them. Our intellects and wills must be disciplined through the repetition of choices and actions in the right times, moments, and measures so that we develop good habits, virtues.

In our prayer voluntas is set in juxtaposition with actio “action”. We have “inclinations” to this or that thing. In actions our inclinations become concrete. Some actions are entirely mental or spiritual, in that they are actions of the mind. We have an initial idea or inclination and then we use our free will to grasp or refuse that idea. We can bring an inclination to a deeper thought, contemplate it. There are intellectual acts (for good or ill). There are also physical acts. We get an idea and then, with our intellects and wills, we figure out how to do it and choose to act (for good or ill). Because of the weakness in us from Original Sin, in order to will and act properly we must have the help of grace.

God begins and completes in us all the meritorious things we do. He gives us the strength to carry through with all good acts.

_____

USEFUL?

Please contribute to my upcoming Rome trip! Behind budget.

Click the waving flag!

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, WDTPRS | Tagged 11th Ordinary Sunday, A Mighty Fortress is our God, auxilium, Donatists, fortitudo, grace, Holy God We Praise Thy Name, merit, St. Augustine, voluntas
5 Comments

Irish PM ‘c’atholic Enda Kenny – what a classy guy

Posted on 16 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I read at the site of the Cardinal Newman Society (see their great RSS feed on my sidebar!), that that paragon of class the PM of Ireland Enda Kenny – pro-abortion catholic – has again stuck his nose into the Church’s business.

Irish Prime Minister Tells Church to Stay out of Politics

The pro-abortion Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who drew protests for delivering the commencement address and receiving an honorary degree from Boston College, [SHAME!] has said that personal faith should play no part in legislation, reports the Irish Examiner.
Kenny described himself as “a Taoiseach who happens to be Catholic but not a Catholic Taoiseach,” saying that personal belief should play no part in lawmaking. [He’s hardly any kind of Catholic at all, in other words.]

Following Cardinal Sean Brady’s criticism of the prime minister’s support for loosening abortion restrictions in Ireland, Kenny responded:
The Constitution is determined by the people, it’s the people’s book. We live within the parameters of the Constitution and strictly within the confines of the law. And that’s where the heads of the bill are entirely focused: Within the Constitution and within the law.
Kenny made similar remarks during his commencement address at Boston College last month.
“Those privileged to lead this, or any other democracy, will do so not as Catholic or Protestant or dissenter, but as men and women guided by and beholden to nothing but the law, the Constitution and above all, the people,” Kenny told the graduates. “All the people — of all faiths and none. You will do so without fear or favour because your God, your personal faith, will sustain you.”
[…]

Remember when Enda was checking his email during a papal audience? HERE

What a classy guy.

Posted in Liberals, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Pò sì jiù, The future and our choices | Tagged Boston College, Enda Kenny, pro-abortion
32 Comments

What is “lobby” all about in the Vatican “gay lobby” chatter going on?

Posted on 15 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There is a lot of chatter on the interwebs about the whole “homosexuals in the Vatican” thing.

This has been so obvious to me for so long that it isn’t news. It also makes me angry, and not in a good way. I hate reading or writing about it.

I detest this whole story because I suffered at the hands of these types for decades both in my home diocese and in Rome. And to be clear, they weren’t always liberals. Most were liberals and dissenters, but a few here and there were solidly on the traditionalist side which makes them even more loathsome. But most of them were dissidents and liberals and were well networked. And they were vicious to anyone who was conservative. These evil twisted men need prayers for the shameful way they treat the priesthood and the Church and because they risk the eternity of Hell. If I sometimes seem to have little sympathy for homosexuals – including and especially pedophiles – in the priesthood, that’s part of the reason.

Many homosexual priests and bishops strive to live holy lives, truly. While I still think they should have chosen a different vocation, because I think deeply-rooted same-sex attraction makes it too hard to relate properly to the Church as a priest (much less bishop), they have all the sympathy and admiration I can muster. Their cross must be very hard to bear. If they bear it and die a holy death in God’s friendship, I suspect their place in heaven will be very high indeed. However, when homosexual clerics act in the twisted and underhanded ways the whole “gay lobby” issue points to … they don’t get a pass from me just because our wretched society is blindly rushing like a hoarde of lemmings towards a “new normal”.

I digress.

One of the words flung around in the blogosphere and opinion items is the word “lobby” as in “gay lobby”. Because this story is driven by Italian sources we need to be clear about what this “lobby” means.

In Italian, “lobby” has a different connotation than it does in English. To get a good description of the different impact, I asked my old friend the great Roman Fabrizio, whose facility in English is amazing. Here is what he sent:

Although increasingly used in a more Anglo-Saxon political sense, the term “lobby” has a decidedly more negative and at times conspiratorial flavor to it in Italian. We otherwise use “gruppi di pressione” [pressure groups] o “gruppi di interesse” [interest groups] when referred to organized and official entities. Another negative term would be “poteri forti” [like “powerful forces”]. In short, it means sinister people who maneuver in the dark and who have leverage enough to make things happen or to prevent them from happening.

In other words, there is nothing benign about “lobby” in this context. When you see it in this context, know that this is nasty business with lots of passive-aggression, villainous-smiling, lying-in-wait, and backstabbing.

I may not write much on this blog about the whole “Vatican gay lobby” thing. It makes me pretty mad. But it is time for me to say this:

For decades our society has been slowly but surely and purposely shifted by those in control of the mainstream media and entertainment industry. At first, because of the rise of AIDS, active homosexuals were constantly portrayed as innocent, though perhaps quirky, victims. Once the notion of homosexuality was shifted from its moorings and a new status was created in the minds of the public, another shift took place in the media. Now, TV shows and movies are saturated with homosexuals who are far more sophisticated, with it, intelligent, good looking than their more dysfunctional heterosexual counterparts. Victim time is over. It is cool to be “gay”.

For years an artificial sub-culture was carefully crafted and now it is busting out into a “new normal”.

But – contrary to popular opinion – human nature and God’s revealed truths have not changed. Homosexuality is not normal. Christ’s priesthood and homosexuality converging is like pushing misaligned magnets together. It can be done, but it requires force. It is no wonder that some of these misaligned clerics do gawdawful things, especially to other clerics. They are out of sorts with themselves at their deepest core. How they must suffer! That suffering will sometimes come out sideways. Homosexual violent crime is often the most brutal and bloody that the police see. Homosexual clerics usually won’t be physically violent. Their conflicts manifest in other ways.

There is an old macaronic-Latin phrase in clerical circles in Rome: homo homini lupus… sacerdos sacerdoti lupissimus.

The combox is closed.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, The Drill | Tagged homosexuals, lobby, Vatican
1 Comment

POLLS: Latin and/or Vernacular at Low Mass (TLM)

Posted on 15 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Under another entry HERE I deal with the question of vernacular readings during the Low Mass of the Extraordinary Form.

A long-time reader and supporter of this blog suggested a poll.

Here are a couple POLLS coming at the question from two directions. Please respond to both?

You can give your reasons in the combox, below (provided you are registered).

And

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, POLLS | Tagged Extraordinary Form, Latin, Low Mass, TLM, vernacular
35 Comments

Hunger Bones

Posted on 15 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I recently saw a movie called Hunger Games (another in a long troop of dystopian movies/books). I guess the movie is part of a series, because I saw a preview of another movie… which figures.

There is great restlessness in our hearts right now, isn’t there. Great restlessness. Very great restlessness. We know something is afoot.

I digress.

My point about Hunger Games was that I recognized the actress from a far better movie: Winter’s Bone. This movie is… gritty. It is a view of our human dark side and the fearsome conditions of life many face.

The actress, Jennifer Lawrence, has talent. But the talent is more evident in Winter’s Bone, which is, I am sure, why she got the part given the connection to the poverty imagery in the beginning of Hunger Games.

I’ll put the Hunger Games books on my Kindle wish list.

So much dystopian stuff going on. Soon World War Z is coming out, for which I am already getting hazed.

What’s up? Zombies! Vampires! End of the world movies! Spectacular CGI of destruction of cities in movies!

I think we feel… we hear… that TEOTWAWKI is in the air, even if it is like the thin peep of the flitting bat at twilight.

Posted in TEOTWAWKI, The Drill | Tagged Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, TEOTWAWKI, Winter's Bone
30 Comments

QUAERITUR: Vernacular only readings in traditional Low Mass?

Posted on 15 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

We have a priest that insists on reading the epistle & gospel in the vernacular for each Low Mass only. No one cares for it and it doesn’t even sound right. It impacts the integrity and fluidity I think of the Mass. Despite resistance we are left with no choice as he does it anyway. How do you feel about this?

I have written about this before. It concerns Summorum Pontificum 6. The explanatory document from the PCED, Universae Ecclesiae, says:

26. As foreseen by article 6 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the readings of the Holy Mass of the Missal of 1962 can be proclaimed either solely in the Latin language, or in Latin followed by the vernacular or, in Low Masses, solely in the vernacular.

So:

In Solemn Masses or Sung Masses, Latin only or Latin followed by vernacular. Never vernacular alone.

In Low Masses, Latin alone, Latin followed by vernacular, or vernacular alone.

I do NOT think that what is permitted here should be imposed on congregations who don’t want vernacular alone. That would be a terrible idea, if people don’t want it. People should respectfully, politely, express their request for Latin only, or Latin followed by vernacular. Politely… did I mention politely?

Remember, Summorum Pontificum permits this. I can think of some occasions when I might be good to do. I bet you can too.

But to impose the vernacular only option – non-traditional option – on a congregation that clearly doesn’t want it that way? Let’s call that arrogant insensitive clericalism.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, Universae Ecclesiae | Tagged clericalism, SP 6, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, UE 26, Universae Ecclesiae, vernacular
15 Comments

Different confessional practices/customs around the world

Posted on 14 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Under another entry concerning “confessional etiquette” a commentator raised the good point that people from different language/ethnic backgrounds have different formulae for beginning and ending their sacramental confessions.

Most Americans of a certain age learned to begin “Bless me Father, I have sinned…” and to conclude “For these and all the sins…”.

There are people from all over the world who read this blog.

Mind you, there is a lot of flexibility in these practices. I think people should have a regular way of confessing in harmony with their region. This helps them be at ease. This is especially important for children.

Let’s talk about some of the different practices!

And more importantly…

GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, GO TO CONFESSION, Linking Back, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged confessional, confessions, etiquette, sacrament of penance
50 Comments

CLERGY and CLERGY ON CALL Car Magnets

Posted on 14 June 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Sometimes when priests respond to a call for help they run into parking problems. It can help to have a plate or sign in the car to put in the windshield when parking at the hospital. It occurred to me that having a visible car magnet might be good for these situations.